As most people are getting excited for Thanksgiving and catching up with family this holiday season, but for most college students, it entails more of worry, fear, and long stressful nights spent in the library. So there’s truly no better time than now to get your self-care routine down pact. I’ve talked about in the past there are so many different ways to help cope with the stress and anxiety we encounter as it becomes “grind szn” as my friends and I say. These tips don’t just work during the upcoming stressful times of final projects and final exams, but every week, or day!
First, we’ll be diving into the first portion, Body. When I think about the body, I think about exercise, stretching daily, getting a breath of fresh air by walking to the gas station to grab a snack, or even just taking time to eat a well-rounded meal. I think these are all key to being your best self, and you would be surprised at how impactful and beneficial these little things could be to your life.
Secondly, another and arguably the most key part of self-care is your mind. When I think about self-care this is exactly what I think of. While for some people like myself this means going to a therapist once a week, it could be as simple as sitting around chilling, taking time to meditate, catching up on your tv shows, or reading a new book. It’s super easy to get caught up in the craziness of a busy schedule or studying non-stop trying to pull an A in a class, so it’s super important to take time to just chill and take your mind off of all your stressors.
Thirdly, beauty, to some it’s a bubble bath, to others it’s a complete treat yourself day from head to toe. Whatever it may look like it’s just as important as any other portion. While some people think self-care is too expensive or too extra, tell them it can be free. While I won’t lie, I have had days on each side of the spectrum- a full day spending upwards of a hundred getting my hair done and a pedicure, I have even more days where I just take a bubble bath and read a book.
Lastly, and what I think most people don’t even think of as self-care guidelines- social. Now you might be thinking to yourself; what? Just as you take a minute from studying, you need to remind yourself it’s okay to take a break from your social life and important to create safe and powerful boundaries to maintain sanity. I’m not going to lie, I struggle with this a lot, it’s a tough balance being a college student and a lot of people think we have to go to all these events to maintain a social life to succeed in college and forget to take a break.
So as the final season approaches, I hope you incorporate things such as reading a book, taking a walk, saying no to a social event, take a bubble bath, or take a walk. The biggest thing I hear of from my friends is there weekly is a constant struggle to getting everything done academically, club involvement, work, social life, and of course maintaining sanity, so I hope you learn to take a breath of fresh air some point every day to make your life less stressful. Every person’s self-care routine is different, so I highly encourage you to slowly incorporating these small changes in your life to keep your self-care in check.